Background
My friend and I had a Eurail 1st Class Pass, and so we used one of our days going around the UK. The pass was simple to use and might be worth it depending on how many times you plan to take the train. For our day journey, we left London, stopped by Stonehenge for a visit, went to Oxford for the afternoon/dinner then returned back to London at night. It was fun that we got to try three different train companies in the process as well.
South Western Railway: London Waterloo to Salisbury
From London Waterloo to Salisbury, it was operated by South Western Railway. The First Class car is in a 1-2 configuration, versus 2-2 in Second Class. There was a power port as well. Unfortunately, there are no drinks or a snack on South Western Railway in First Class. If you don’t have a pass, the pricing for a ticket on the day of departure was 29.50 GBP in 2nd Class, or 80.10 GBP in 1st Class. It seems steep for 1st Class to be so much more.
South Western Railway: Salisbury to Basingstoke & Cross Country Trains: Basingstoke to Oxford
From Salisbury to Oxford, we had to hop on two separate trains. The first was another South Western Railway, similar to the one we took to Salisbury.
Then we hopped on to a CrossCountry Train. On the CrossCountry Train, we were immediately offered drinks which was nice, as we were only on that train for less than 50 minutes.
This entire journey from Salisbury to Oxford was about 1 hour and 50 minutes, with less than 50 minutes on each train, plus a 20 minute connection in between. A second class ticket on this route was 40.30 GBP, and a first class ticket was 75.80 GBP.
Great Western Railway: Oxford to London Paddington
This was a direct ride, taking 59 minutes and ending in London Paddington. When I saw the train pull up to the station, I was impressed by how new it looked. The first-class car was in the front of the train, and it was practically empty the whole journey.
The seats were comfy in a 2-1 configuration and had power plugs. An attendant came by with drinks as well as snacks! I grabbed some peanuts, and he came back with more snacks towards the end of the ride. Other snacks available were almonds, biscuits, chips, crackers, and fruitcake.
A second-class seat was 31.70 GBP, and a first-class seat was 68.20 GBP on the day of departure.
The Verdict:
Overall, it was kind of fun to hop around the different trains and see various seat colors and drinks and snack services, or lack thereof. My favorite was the newer train on our way back on the Great Western Railway as it was sleek, and provided both a drink and a snack.
Have you been on these trains before? Which one is your favorite? Comment below!
Cheers,
Ty
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I traveled on Great Western ~7 years ago. The ride was a pretty basic experience, but what I remember more than anything is how sleepy the area is around Waterloo Station in London. If you look at the location on Google Maps, you would assume it would be bustling, but things get very quiet very fast on the other side of the Thames.
Thanks for reading and sharing! You’re right, our walk to the station was quite peaceful and not crowded at all!